Greetings on this last day of September! It has been a busy and fruitful week at BPS.
Students in all four 1st grade classes had a busy day of outdoor learning on Tuesday, when they traveled to retired teacher Adrienne Magida's homestead in Middlesex to explore field, forest and pond ecosystems and enjoy welcoming fall in VT.
Fourth graders visited the Flynn Theater on Wednesday for a special matinee performance of Step Afrika! We've heard rave reviews from both the students and adults in attendance, as well as awesome compliments on student behavior at the theater! While our school had a very long wait for the bus to leave the Flynn, students were respectful, patient and represented BPS beautifully!
The second graders in Ms. Kahofer's class filled their fish tank with fish and gems (part of our universal reinforcement system as part of PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) and had a walking field trip to Maxi's on Thursday! They enjoyed the 'second grade special' from the menu and demonstrated expert restaurant etiquette and manners!
Open Houses begin next week! We look forward to welcoming families including students into the building following the schedule below.
iMove Activities- grades 3 & 4
This year we are excited to provide third and fourth grade students with more opportunities for iMove activities. The goal of our iMove program is to get students outside, moving their bodies in all VT seasons. We typically plan to hike in the fall, ski/snowshoe in the winter, and bike in the spring. In order to make this program a success we need level 3 chaperones! If you are a confirmed level 3, please reach out to your child’s classroom teacher if you are interested in volunteering for any of the activities ASAP. If you are not yet a level 3 chaperone and would like to volunteer at some point please reach out to Michele Ballard (mballard@huusd.org) to start the process.
Nurse's Notes
Monday, October 3 is National Child Health Day. You can celebrate your children's health by:
Scheduling your child's next Well Child Visit
Be sure your child is up to date on their vaccines. Now is a great time to get a flu shot!
Schedule your child's next dental check up.
Choose one new health activity to participate in as a family this month.
Visit HealthyChildren.org for more information.
Backpack Program
It is now the beginning of the school year and our Brookside Backpack Program is up and running. For those who may not have heard of it, this program was started by our former principal Denise Goodnow to further meet the needs of students in our community. Every week, a backpack is sent home providing Brookside families who sign up with supplemental food for the weekend. We are always accepting donations in this program. This year I have started an Amazon wish list that I will update periodically based on need. It is not required that the items be purchased off of Amazon, they can be purchased anywhere. This is primarily to communicate our needs with the community members who choose to generously donate. Here is the link:
You can leave donations in the Main Entrance airlock at Brookside Primary school, or order online and have shipped to:
Backpack Program
47 Stowe St.
Waterbury, VT 05676
Thank you for your continued support of this program.
If you have any questions, please contact Aimee Smith at asmith@huusd.org.
Brookside PTO
Brookside had its first PTO meeting last Tuesday evening! We are looking forward to collaborating to sponsor community and education events in addition to fundraising efforts this year! Meetings are once a month and last approx 1 hour. Please email Tammy at trost@huusd.org with any questions.
Upcoming Dates to note:
Friday, October 7 - No School - Teacher Inservice
Monday, October 10 - No School - Indigenous Peoples' Day
Thank you for your ongoing support and for sharing your children with us!
Best,
Sarah & Chris
COMMUNITY POSTINGS
Sunday, October 16th - Ben and Jerry's Great Pumpkin Giveaway!
Rain, snow or shine we will be here at the factory handing out pumpkins, goodie bags and of course ice cream!
All that we ask for is a non-perishable food donation or monetary donation which supports the local Waterbury Food Shelf, helping them to fill up their shelves before winter starts.
Start time is 9:00am and we finish when the last pumpkin is gone.
Event is at the factory and will be in the lower guest parking lot.